In the Dark
by Wyntir Rose
Summary: When Cosmos crash lands in Decepticon-held territory, Bumblebee is sent on a solo mission to bring him home.


_"Warning! Warning! Thermal shielding failing! Warning! External plating at 25%! Warn-"_

"I know! Quiet!" Cosmos snapped at his systems as he desperately tried to angle for a safe landing space.

Focus was becoming more and more difficult as his shielding failed and he felt his skin begin to heat up with the friction of re-entry. He was coming in far to fast and far too hot to ever hope to land safely. Not that he tended to land well in the best of circumstances; but this was promising to be a crash he wouldn't be walking away from.

In desperation, he opened a comm. channel with Iacon. Maybe if he was able to get out a call, the Autobots could do something. Deep down, he doubted it, but he wasn't willing to give up just yet.

_"Blaster! Come in! Anyone in Iacon? Come in! This is Cosmos! I'm in coming in hot and I need help!"_

There was nothing on the other side of the line, not even static. Praying to his creator, the Matrix, and an ancient god who might not even exist, he sent his coordinates to Iacon and desperately tried to land halfway safely. With a little – okay, a **lot** – of luck, the Autobots would have gotten something and come get him.

Buildings rose up under Cosmos as high winds whipped past him, tossing him around like he was an empty container. He had less than a second's warning before he was slammed into the side of an abandoned tower and sent spinning away in the opposite direction. The ground roared up to meet him and then there was nothing but darkness.

Bumblebee entered Prowl's office, knocking lightly on the door frame as he did.

"You wanted to see me, sir?"

"Yes, Bumblebee. Come in and sit down." Prowl motioned to the chair across the desk and pressed a button to lock the door. As soon as the young spy sat, Prowl handed him a data pad. "At 3600 hours last night we received a distress call from one of our reconnaissance mechs. From what we can gather, he was shot down by a Decepticon – possibly Astrotrain. We tracked his decent to somewhere in Polyhex near the Border States."

Bumblebee nodded as he looked over the data pad. "Okay," he sounded unsure. "So what do you need me for? I mean, shouldn't you be talking to someone from one of the search and rescue teams?"

"Under normal circumstances, yes that would be the case. Unfortunately, we do not know precisely where he crashed. We only have a rough area that is far too close to Darkmount for us to send in an obvious rescue party. Now, I have spoken with Jazz regarding this mission and he assures me that you have the needed skills to infiltrate Polyhex and return with our agent or his data."

Bumblebee cycled his optics in a blink before nodding. "Yes, I think I can do it. Can I ask why me and why on my own?"

"I need Jazz and Mirage elsewhere. This is a one mech job and you are best suited to it given our present options," Prowl replied.

"Uh, thank you ... I think." Bumblebee took another look at the data pad, stopping at the final line of the order. He reread the line three times before looking up at Prowl, shock written all over his faceplates "Sir? This says that I'm to extract his memory core and extinguish his spark if I can't get him out! Sir, I can't do that! I can't kill another Autobot!"

"You may not be left with any other choice, Bumblebee. I realize that this is your first solo mission and I appreciate your concern. But if it is impossible to extract Cosmos, we cannot allow him or his intel to into Decepticon hands. I trust you understand the severity of the situation and the consequences should the Decepticons get to him before you do."

Bumblebee looked at Prowl, suddenly looking very young. But he nodded and seemed to stiffen formally. "Yes, sir. In understand."

Prowl caught the hesitation hidden behind the words. "Bumblebee, believe me, if there were any other option available to us, I would not ask this of you. Jazz has complete faith in you. I have run the numbers and there is an eighty-two point three five percent chance that you will be able to bring Cosmos back to Iacon. That, of course, is given the forty-nine point two eight three percent chance that he survived the crash and can be extracted."

It was as close to an expression of faith that Bumblebee would ever get from Prowl.

"Yes, sir. I'll leave immediately."

Bumblebee crouched down behind the burnt out husk of an ancient Guardian. The shell of the giant mech provided the perfect cover, as anyone who did happen to look in Bumblebee's direction would only see a scavenging Empty. He hadn't taken the time to repaint himself, but there were enough refuse heaps between Iacon and Polyhex to get properly dinged and scratched up to go unnoticed. There were times when he thought that yellow wasn't the smartest choice for an espionage agent. But at the same time the whole look – the lines, the colour, the size – ensured that everyone, including the other Autobots underestimated him at every turn. It had its problems but for the most part, Bumblebee found that it was all of more use than a hindrance.

He stayed in his hiding place for a few more minutes, ensuring that he wasn't being observed, before moving on. According to his scans and information, Cosmos should have come down nearby. He must have been online after he crashed and managed to get into hiding, otherwise Bumblebee would have heard about his capture. After all, the Decepticons were never subtle, especially not on their own turf.

Shuffling away from the Guardian, he made his way to a decaying building. From the look of it, it had once been magnificent, possibly the home of a wealthy trader or an artist. From what Bumblebee could remember, this area was once home to both. It had been a shining jewel in Polyhex's already impressive crown, and one of the earliest places to fall before the Decepticon war machine.

Shaking his head to drive away dark thoughts, he slipped into the building through the hollow frame of a window and began to look around intently for any sign of Cosmos. The report Prowl had given him detailed the recon agent's body-type and colour scheme, both helpful pieces of information when looking for someone who didn't want to be found by the wrong people. A quick scan of the room and he knew he was in the right place – a drop of coolant here, a scrape of green there, and over everything the vague and dissipating smell of overheated metal and ozone.

"Hello?" Bumblebee said softly, following the now-obvious trail. "You can come out. I'm not going to hurt you."

As he moved carefully through the building he pulled out his gun. There was always the possibility that he was wrong and that who- or whatever was hiding wasn't Cosmos. There was also the very good possibility that if it was the Autobot, he wouldn't trust anyone who came after him. As if on cue, there was a groan from somewhere above him followed by a shriek of tortured metal. Bumblebee had barely enough notice, and only the constant drill that Jazz had him run saved him from becoming scrap.

He jumped back, rolling out of the way of a large block of rusted, rotting metal. Instantly, he had his feet under him and his gun pointed in the direction of the remains of the higher floors.

"I'm not a threat to you," he called out. "Come down and-" He was cut off as a small sculpture was thrown at his head. "Hey! Stop that!"

"No," came the soft, accented reply. "Go away. This space is taken."

Bumblebee took a few steps back and peered up into the darkness. "You're being ridiculous, you know that? I'm here to help you and you're throwing garbage at me!"

"I don't know you from Beta. Why should I believe anything you have to say?" the other mech asked from his hiding place in the shadows.

Now that Bumblebee had a better idea of where to look, he could see the outline of a rotund, almost ball-like mech on the floor above him. With a flash of inspiration he moved behind a pile of debris, acting as if he was seeking shelter from the rain of objects from above. As soon as he was sure he was out of Cosmos's line of site, he placed a communicator on the far side and set it to send. With luck, he would be able to get up and around the other mech while keeping up the illusion that he was still hiding on the main level.

"Look, you're being illogical. If I was a Decepticon I wouldn't be trying to talk you out, I'd just shoot. And if I was an Empty looking for a bolt-hole … well, again, we wouldn't be having this conversation."

As Bumblebee continued to talk to the other mech he made his way quietly up the remains of a staircase. The debris was enough to act as camouflage, but not so much as to impede his progress. Most likely the other Autobot had taken them to get to the second floor after he came in here.

A small piece of debris flew out in the direction of the communicator, but it was far more half-hearted than before.

"None of that means that I can trust you."

"Look! I'm an Autobot. I was sent here to get you out and back to Iacon!" Bumblebee cried, thoroughly exasperated.

Another piece of rubble came flying out, this one far harder. "Oh? Just like last time? I'm not falling for it again! Last time one of you came to get me after a crash you came to take my data files and that's it!"

Bumblebee paused as he got to the landing. "What? That doesn't make any sense."

In his surprise he forgot to use the communicator and spoke out loud.

Cosmos spun to face Bumblebee, backing away. "Leave me alone! I'll get back to Iacon on my own! I don't need your help and I won't let you take my dat-" The small mech cut off with a cry as he fell over backwards, his foot catching on a piece of rubble.

Bumblebee shot forward to catch Cosmos as he fell but the green mech was dead weight in his arms.

Cosmos came back online slowly, crawling his way back to reality.

"Ooooh … what happened?" he asked dully.

"Oh good, you're okay," Bumblebee said, coming up to sit next to Cosmos.

"… that's debatable … my processor is aching. What happened?" the green mech asked as he ran his hands over his faceplate.

"As near as I can tell you crashed nearby and made your way in here," Bumblebee replied, handing an emergency ration cube to Cosmos. "I'm not sure how you got in here without attracting attention, and why no Cons came to check in on it. ... But I suppose we just have to count our blessings."

Cosmos nodded and took the cube, fiddling with it slightly, looking decidedly nervous. "I think I remember some activity. They came in, looked around, and left. They didn't seem all that interested - they were arguing about something but I didn't catch most of it." He shrugged apologetically.

"It doesn't matter. All that does is that they didn't find you and we can get you back across into Iacon." Bumblebee nodded to the cube. "You need to refuel. I'm a not a medic, but I did run a basic scan and you seem to be seriously low."

Cosmos looked down at the cube. "I, uhm ... it's just that I'm not really used to people. I don't usually refuel around others ..."

Bumblebee smiled sympathetically. "I understand. It can't be easy being away for that long." He paused, looking at the other mech carefully. "Look, if you'd prefer I can turn around, or go secure the main floor again or something while you drink that. But, honestly, I seriously doubt you have anything to be shy about."

The yellow spy smiled and patted Cosmos's arm with casual affection before standing and moving toward the stairs.

"Wait, uhm, you don't need to go," the green mech said slowly. "I'd, uhm, I'd like the company, if you don't mind …? You know, you never told me your name?"

"I didn't? Oh, I guess I didn't, did I?" Bumblebee chuckled as he came back to sit near Cosmos, offering his hand to the other minibot. "My designation's Bumblebee. Most folks just call me Bee though. And it's a pleasure to meet you, Cosmos."

After a brief moment of hesitation, Cosmos reached out and took the proffered hand, squeezing it firmly. He nodded slightly and reached up to remove his helmet, revealing a plain yet well put together face. The only unusual feature were the pale blue, rhomboid optics that shone out from the yellow face.

"It's nice to meet you too, Bumblebee."


End file.
